KNIT STARS BLOG!
š§¶ Nothing in the way
Knit Stars
|The funniest thing happened this past week, and I think it might hold a valuable little nugget for you. I took Charles Barkley out on an early morning beach walk like we usually do. Itās his favorite part of the day. Dogs are allowed on the beach in the early morning and late afternoon. So…
Read More š§¶The Sunday Yarn: Mattieās Story
Knit Stars
|Last week I talked about a rollercoaster of emotions, but that was nothing compared with this past week. Wherever you may live in the world, and whatever your beliefs, no doubt you have felt the intensity of emotions in the wake of the US elections. So in this weekās Sunday read, I would like to…
Read More š§¶Cāmon take a ride with me
Knit Stars
|On our first beach walk after flying back from Tulsa, Charlie just sat and watched the sunset. Howās your week been? For me itās been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. š¢ The day after I flew back home to Florida from Rhinebeck, I hopped on another plane to Tulsa, where my dad had just…
Read More š§¶How to take a compliment
Knit Stars
|My whole life, Iāve struggled with compliments. Not the giving part (I love love love making others feel good), but the accepting part. And to get really vulnerable for a minuteā¦Iāve spent a lot of time in therapy over the years trying to understand why. My therapist has a couple strong theories, going back to…
Read More š§¶The most important one
Knit Stars
|This feels like the most important newsletter Iāve written all year. I really want to get it rightā¦for you to feel whatās in my heart and for it to touch your own heart, deeply. So here goesā¦ (deep breath)… This past week I met with some dear friends from around the world. We are a…
Read More š§¶The no that launched thousands of yeses
Knit Stars
|Pull up a chair and get comfy, because this week I have a little longer yarn that Iāve never shared publicly before. When was the last time you had to build up your courage for weeks to ask something of someone you really admired, and they told you no? Or even worse, just ignored you?…
Read More š§¶Revive your whole wardrobe
Knit Stars
|Happy Sunday! Is there one compliment you love getting more than any other kind? Over the past 9 years of producing Knit Stars Masterclasses, thereās one customer comment thatās my absolute favorite to readā¦ āThis workshop alone was worth the price of admission for the whole Season!ā And of course I feel that way about…
Read More š§¶Is this a “crazy” idea?
Knit Stars
|This week, letās talk a bit about ācrazyā ideas. Knit Stars Season 5 was the high Season of COVID. I had planned the ultimate travel bucket list year, with plans to film in Australia, Japan, Mallorca, Copenhagen and points all across North America. It all fell away in a heartbeat as all the countries closed.…
Read More š§¶Join the inner circle
Knit Stars
|You know how last week I talked about dissolving the ānotsā in our knitting? Well this week, itās confession time. Because there was an insidious ānotā that ensnared my first couple decades as a maker. I was NOT going to touch circular knitting! I made dozens of adult and baby sweaters, all seamed. I was…
Read More š§¶Goodbye, nots!
Knit Stars
|Lately Iāve been doing some deep thinking – about knots. Youāre a Yarnie, so you know the feeling. Youāre flowing along in the zone on your project, and all of a sudden you hit a dreaded knot. You have to stop, decide whether it can be undone or cut, leaving two more ends to weave…
Read More š§¶Your next capsule wardrobe
Knit Stars
|Itās that time of year when my WIPs begin that eternal battle with one anotherā¦ Crank out one more crochet crop for those last dog days of summerā¦Or cast on a new knit sweater in fall hues??? Right now for me, the latter is winning out – especially after I took a peek at the…
Read More š§¶Do you wanna go faster? š¢
Knit Stars
|The year was circa 1978. It was my first time visiting Bellās Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was nervous to ride Zingo, the big wooden roller coaster. So I decided to work up my courage on an easier ride first. āThe Himalayaā was one of those rides where the cars fly around in a…
Read More š§¶A different kind of love story
Knit Stars
|Iāve been a dog lover for as long as I can remember. Our first pup as a young family was Lucy the Lhasa Apso. Longtime readers will remember my beloved Purl, who survived a horrific attack and went on to grace our home with so much love, wiggles and furry hugs, that before we knew…
Read More š§¶What a surprise!
Knit Stars
|Striking my best Olympic pose after finishing my new crochet top! Hey there, If youāre like me, now that the Olympics is over, youāre looking for your next escape. Iāve been thinking, and itās occurred to me that every Knit Stars Masterclass is like three of my favorite escapes, all rolled into one. Thereās the…
Read More š§¶Turn stash into kindness
Knit Stars
|Dear reader, this week Iād like to introduce you to a real life Soap Star. š¤© Stacy Wiener is the founder of S.A.C.K. – Supporting A Community with Kindness. She was nominated by TWO of our Yarniverse members to be a Rising Star – and in the exact same month that I found out about…
Read More š§¶ Get to know Emma
Knit Stars
|I first saw Emma Fassioās name many years ago, on a pattern my friend Gina Hills was working on. Many of you might remember Gina, a manager at our Loops stores for more than a decade. Gina was (still is) a style inspiration of mine, a big fan of iconic Italian fashion houses like Missoni.…
Read More š§¶Catching the Doodle bug
Knit Stars
|Jamie Lomax took up knitting in 2020 as a COVID hobby. She was working as a senior project manager for a large retail and food service company in Seattle at the time. āWe all got sent home, and I was on Teams calls all day every day. I have ADHD so I was struggling to…
Read More š§¶Something new is bloomingā¦
Knit Stars
|Happy Sunday, beautiful reader! Do you ever have those moments like I do, when youāre scrolling social media, and an image makes you stop and audibly gasp – causing anyone else in your household to run in and see if youāre ok? This past week I had one of those moments, and (after assuring said…
Read More š§¶Sprinkle that stuff on everythingā¦
Knit Stars
|TW: ThisĀ weekāsĀ newsletter includesĀ sensitive mental health topics. Sending all of our love our beautiful readers, family and friendsĀ ā¤ļø.Ā āI had two options. I could either let it wreck me and disrupt my life, or I could inspire myself and others, share my story, and use it to help raise awareness.ā These are the wise words of…
Read More š§¶Back in the saddle
Knit Stars
|Hello dear reader, Howās it going in your creative world? These past few weeks have been even more whirlwind-y than usual for me, as Knit Stars Season 9 filming has kicked into high gear. I made a commitment to go to all the filmings this year, which means Iām up in the air, upside down,…
Read More š§¶ Nothing in the way
Knit Stars
|The funniest thing happened this past week, and I think it might hold a valuable little nugget for you. I took Charles Barkley out on an early morning beach walk like we usually do. Itās his favorite part of the day. Dogs are allowed on the beach in the early morning and late afternoon. So…
Read More š§¶The Sunday Yarn: Mattieās Story
Knit Stars
|Last week I talked about a rollercoaster of emotions, but that was nothing compared with this past week. Wherever you may live in the world, and whatever your beliefs, no doubt you have felt the intensity of emotions in the wake of the US elections. So in this weekās Sunday read, I would like to…
Read More š§¶Cāmon take a ride with me
Knit Stars
|On our first beach walk after flying back from Tulsa, Charlie just sat and watched the sunset. Howās your week been? For me itās been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. š¢ The day after I flew back home to Florida from Rhinebeck, I hopped on another plane to Tulsa, where my dad had just…
Read More š§¶How to take a compliment
Knit Stars
|My whole life, Iāve struggled with compliments. Not the giving part (I love love love making others feel good), but the accepting part. And to get really vulnerable for a minuteā¦Iāve spent a lot of time in therapy over the years trying to understand why. My therapist has a couple strong theories, going back to…
Read More š§¶The most important one
Knit Stars
|This feels like the most important newsletter Iāve written all year. I really want to get it rightā¦for you to feel whatās in my heart and for it to touch your own heart, deeply. So here goesā¦ (deep breath)… This past week I met with some dear friends from around the world. We are a…
Read More š§¶The no that launched thousands of yeses
Knit Stars
|Pull up a chair and get comfy, because this week I have a little longer yarn that Iāve never shared publicly before. When was the last time you had to build up your courage for weeks to ask something of someone you really admired, and they told you no? Or even worse, just ignored you?…
Read More š§¶Revive your whole wardrobe
Knit Stars
|Happy Sunday! Is there one compliment you love getting more than any other kind? Over the past 9 years of producing Knit Stars Masterclasses, thereās one customer comment thatās my absolute favorite to readā¦ āThis workshop alone was worth the price of admission for the whole Season!ā And of course I feel that way about…
Read More š§¶Is this a “crazy” idea?
Knit Stars
|This week, letās talk a bit about ācrazyā ideas. Knit Stars Season 5 was the high Season of COVID. I had planned the ultimate travel bucket list year, with plans to film in Australia, Japan, Mallorca, Copenhagen and points all across North America. It all fell away in a heartbeat as all the countries closed.…
Read More š§¶Join the inner circle
Knit Stars
|You know how last week I talked about dissolving the ānotsā in our knitting? Well this week, itās confession time. Because there was an insidious ānotā that ensnared my first couple decades as a maker. I was NOT going to touch circular knitting! I made dozens of adult and baby sweaters, all seamed. I was…
Read More š§¶Goodbye, nots!
Knit Stars
|Lately Iāve been doing some deep thinking – about knots. Youāre a Yarnie, so you know the feeling. Youāre flowing along in the zone on your project, and all of a sudden you hit a dreaded knot. You have to stop, decide whether it can be undone or cut, leaving two more ends to weave…
Read More š§¶Your next capsule wardrobe
Knit Stars
|Itās that time of year when my WIPs begin that eternal battle with one anotherā¦ Crank out one more crochet crop for those last dog days of summerā¦Or cast on a new knit sweater in fall hues??? Right now for me, the latter is winning out – especially after I took a peek at the…
Read More š§¶Do you wanna go faster? š¢
Knit Stars
|The year was circa 1978. It was my first time visiting Bellās Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was nervous to ride Zingo, the big wooden roller coaster. So I decided to work up my courage on an easier ride first. āThe Himalayaā was one of those rides where the cars fly around in a…
Read More š§¶A different kind of love story
Knit Stars
|Iāve been a dog lover for as long as I can remember. Our first pup as a young family was Lucy the Lhasa Apso. Longtime readers will remember my beloved Purl, who survived a horrific attack and went on to grace our home with so much love, wiggles and furry hugs, that before we knew…
Read More š§¶What a surprise!
Knit Stars
|Striking my best Olympic pose after finishing my new crochet top! Hey there, If youāre like me, now that the Olympics is over, youāre looking for your next escape. Iāve been thinking, and itās occurred to me that every Knit Stars Masterclass is like three of my favorite escapes, all rolled into one. Thereās the…
Read More š§¶Turn stash into kindness
Knit Stars
|Dear reader, this week Iād like to introduce you to a real life Soap Star. š¤© Stacy Wiener is the founder of S.A.C.K. – Supporting A Community with Kindness. She was nominated by TWO of our Yarniverse members to be a Rising Star – and in the exact same month that I found out about…
Read More š§¶ Get to know Emma
Knit Stars
|I first saw Emma Fassioās name many years ago, on a pattern my friend Gina Hills was working on. Many of you might remember Gina, a manager at our Loops stores for more than a decade. Gina was (still is) a style inspiration of mine, a big fan of iconic Italian fashion houses like Missoni.…
Read More š§¶Catching the Doodle bug
Knit Stars
|Jamie Lomax took up knitting in 2020 as a COVID hobby. She was working as a senior project manager for a large retail and food service company in Seattle at the time. āWe all got sent home, and I was on Teams calls all day every day. I have ADHD so I was struggling to…
Read More š§¶Something new is bloomingā¦
Knit Stars
|Happy Sunday, beautiful reader! Do you ever have those moments like I do, when youāre scrolling social media, and an image makes you stop and audibly gasp – causing anyone else in your household to run in and see if youāre ok? This past week I had one of those moments, and (after assuring said…
Read More š§¶Sprinkle that stuff on everythingā¦
Knit Stars
|TW: ThisĀ weekāsĀ newsletter includesĀ sensitive mental health topics. Sending all of our love our beautiful readers, family and friendsĀ ā¤ļø.Ā āI had two options. I could either let it wreck me and disrupt my life, or I could inspire myself and others, share my story, and use it to help raise awareness.ā These are the wise words of…
Read More š§¶Back in the saddle
Knit Stars
|Hello dear reader, Howās it going in your creative world? These past few weeks have been even more whirlwind-y than usual for me, as Knit Stars Season 9 filming has kicked into high gear. I made a commitment to go to all the filmings this year, which means Iām up in the air, upside down,…
Read More Posts
š§¶A Sunnie takeover š
This week, Sunnie – our intrepid Project Manager – takes a turn at authoring the newsletter. We hope you love and appreciate her high-energy vibes as much as we do around here! – xoxo Shelley Is your list of places youād like to travel as long as your pattern queue? Mine certainly is. I absolutely…
Read More š§¶Simpler, and simpler still
How complicated is your life right now? ā¦and how about your knitting? Personally, Iāve found that when my life gets more complex, my knitting has to get simpler. Itās like a seesaw. When one end is up, the other has to go down. Over the past few months, Iāve traveled to film in 5 countries,…
Read More š§¶Ready, Setā¦start!
Today Iāve got something completely new for youā¦ And itās been 17 years in the making. Back when I opened my first yarn shop in 2005, I had a famous visitor one day. Jeanne Tripplehorn, the Tulsa-girl-turned-Hollywood-film-actress, walked into my shop. Imagine my surprise when I found out she was a knitter! Jeanne had seen…
Read More š¤ A very personal bind-off
This weekās newsletter is a hard one to write, and yet I write it with so much joy in my heart. The same kind of joy that happens when youāve been working on a beautiful project for years, and it finally comes time to bind off. As I write this, Iām in the final stages…
Read More š§¶How can one row look this good? š
Believe it or not, this scarf is a 1-row repeat. š¤Æ When I read that, I honestly didnāt quite believe it. But itās true. This pattern called SĆLV by Season 3 Knit Star Cecelia Campochiaro is a one-row pattern repeated over and over, except for the increases and decreases at the ends of alternating rows…
Read More š§¶Ann + Kay bust a knitting myth
Have you ever thought of knitters as lonely? In Knit Stars Masterclass Season 3, Ann + Kay of Modern Daily Knitting set out to bust a bunch of knitting mythsā¦ Like āYou must always finish what you start.ā And āGarter stitch is boring.ā And āKnitting is a lonely, solitary activity.ā I donāt know about you…
Read More Arne + Carlosā mind-blowing tip š¤Æ
Norwegian purl!Ā š¤Æ A few years back when we debuted Knit Stars Masterclass Season 3, Arne + Carlos showed us how they make the Norwegian purl. And all around the world, knitters who had always been stumped by the continental purl said a collective āOOOOH AAAAHHHHHHā¦ā After all, lots of us love the continental knit stitch…
Read More š§¶Caitlin’s tip + your perfect spring sweater
Have you ever knit a whole sweater in a weekend? Our new Knit Stars project manager, Sunnie, just finished this Brookline Blouse – inĀ two days! And, while we donāt recommend the circumstances that led to her speed-knitting this sweater, we do highly recommend the project. In fact, itās leapfrogged straight to the front of my…
Read More š§¶ GGās tip: Bring an extra bag!
Click for a special message from GG. Longtime readers know, I opened our very first yarn shop 16 years ago with this idea I called the āHot Loops Wall.ā After years of being frustrated, leaving yarn shops empty-handed because I couldnāt find cute project ideas to go with the yarnsā¦ I thought, why not build…
Read More š§¶ It was 3 years in the makingā¦
It was 3 years ago, at Vogue Knitting Live 2019. Thatās the last time that Gaye āGGā Glasspie and Adella Colvin (@lolabeanyarnco) were together in the same room. For the past 3 years, nearly every day, theyāve talked, texted or gone live together on Instagram. But the pandemic – and life – have kept them…
Read More š§¶ Springās āitā top with Tamaraās Tip
Donāt you just feel like dancing after that record-smashingĀ Hot Loops Wall Reveal?Ā š This community came forward in a BIG way to show love for the Iconic Orange Lady (and still is showing up!). GG admitted she was a little nervous that you wouldnāt embrace her āorange-forwardā project wall – and youĀ showed up and showed out!!!…
Read More š§¶ Your Season 7 Stars š£
Itās Knit Stars teacher announcement day!Ā š¤© We are ecstatic to finally be able to announce the names of our Season 7 Knit Stars. The theme for Season 7 is āTexture + Wonder,ā and we canāt wait for these innovative, inspiring Stars to share their personal āyarnstoriesā and workshops that will truly transform your knitting life.…
Read More š§¶ Colorful Summer Knits āļø
Building color palettes can be a learned skill, especially with colors you donāt typically wear. But have no fear; Beata Jezek from Season 2 of Knit Stars will help you gain confidence in your color pairing skills and give you the tools to create a stunning color palette for your next project! Photo byĀ @chrisstricktĀ on Ravelry.…
Read More š§¶ A beautiful beach day!
Do you ever wish someone would throw you a knitting lifeline? Then youāre going to love this weekās tip from Andrea Mowryās Season 2 Knit Stars workshop. If youĀ ever find yourself getting a bit nervous with a new stitch or a long pattern repeat, worrying that you might have to frog it back, do yourself…
Read More š§¶ Foolproof fair isle with Alexa
Trusting your gut can be hard. Especially when a Fair Isle project is on the lineā¦ This week, Season 2 Star Alexa Ludeman of Tin Can Knits brings you a foolproof tip for making sure your colors have enough contrast to pop! Photo credit: Caitlin Hunter The best way to get good at Fair Isle…
Read More š§¶ Go jogless with Veera!
If youāre like me, this time of year you find yourself putting aside those grey knits of winter, and reaching for all theĀ color! Whether youāre an experienced colorwork enthusiast, or youāre just looking to dip your toe into multi-color projects for the first time, stripes are a great way to goā¦ And no one knows…
Read More š§¶Andrea Mās burrito trick
So, funny story.Ā A few months back, I was scrolling the āgram when a photo of yarn stopped me in my tracks. It was a colorway inspired by the movie āCoco.ā And Iām not sure if it was my memories from the movie or the absolutely breathtaking depth and balance of that colorā¦ But I…
Read More š§¶ Hannahās organization tips
If youāre like me, justĀ lookingĀ at cool storage solutions makes me feel calmerā¦ So whether todayās message inspires you to organize your needles and notions, or it just provides some eye candy for your Sunday, our mission will be accomplished. š¤ Letās get it rolling with thisĀ 3-minute video clipĀ with Hannah Thiessen from Knit Stars Season 4.…
Read More š§¶The āmissing linkā color
Do you ever find yourself in a color rut? Wishing you could push your own color envelopeā¦but afraid to invest in the yarn without knowingĀ for sureĀ how it will turn out? It happens to all of us. Thereās comfort in the familiar. And when weāre drawn to a project, itās often because of the color. So…
Read More š§¶Andrea’s colorwork tips
This is the ādo what the Knit Star says, not what I doā edition. š In Season 3, Knit Star Andrea Rangel shared some simple, but critical stranded colorwork tips.Ā Watch this 2-minute clipĀ for her āstop and spread,ā āblock before you judgeā and most importantly, ācolorwork gaugeā tips. In my defense, IĀ didĀ swatch before starting āThe Owen…
Read More